Perhaps sensing a buying opportunity, the chief executive of Victorian Plumbing (VIC) has increased his stake, although some may interpret the move as a means of shoring up investor confidence, which is at a low ebb given the company’s shares have fallen by 80 per cent since it floated on Aim last summer.
Mark Radcliffe, who founded the online bathroom retailer in 1999, has bought 700,000 shares at £0.506 each. Radcliffe now holds more than 150mn ordinary shares, representing a hefty 47 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.
Victorian Plumbing – which sells bathroom products and accessories to consumers and businesses – achieved a debut price of 262p, valuing it at £850mn when it listed last June. However, its market cap now stands at just £195mn.
The listing took place during a home improvement boom, driven by multiple lockdowns. Since then, the company has noted a flattening of demand, saying that customers are finding other things to spend their money on now they are allowed out and about.
Victorian Plumbing reported a 17 per cent drop in pre-tax profit for the year ended 30 September 2021. This drop was the result of costs relating to its IPO, but 2022 has seen the company strike a more cautious note.
In a cautious trading update in February, the company said revenue for the four months ended 31 January 2022 was down 3 per cent year on year, but over a third up on the same period two years ago. The second half of 2021 is likely to be an easier comparator, and the group expects modest year-on-year revenue growth in the period. However, it flagged inflationary cost pressures and said it was “acutely aware” that its customers are facing similar issues. As a result, the company is temporarily absorbing some additional costs, which means profit margins will be slightly lower than previously thought.
| Buys | ||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
| Bellway | Ian McHoul | 08 Apr 22 | 2,520 | 50,400 |
| Bellway | John Tutte (ch) * | 07 Apr 22 | 2,545 | 509,096 |
| Brand Architekts | Roger McDowell (ch) | 05-06 Apr 22 | 78 | 272,250 |
| Dechra Pharmaceuticals | Alison Platt (ch) | 05 Apr 22 | 4,230 | 99,231 |
| Devro | Rohan Cummings (cfo) | 06 Apr 22 | 209 | 39,601 |
| Faron Pharmaceuticals | Markku Jalkanen (ce) | 05 Apr 22 | 235† | 58,750† |
| Goodwin | Bernard Goodwin (PDMR) * | 04 Apr 22 | 3,357 | 99,083 |
| Gresham House Energy | John Stephen Leggate | 06 Apr 22 | 146 | 59,130 |
| Horizonte Minerals | Allan Walker | 06 Apr 22 | 7 | 39,589 |
| IWG | Francois Pauly | 07 Apr 22 | 269 | 53,778 |
| Oxford BioDynamics | Stephen Diggle * | 06 Apr 22 | 19 | 112,200 |
| Oxford Nanopore | Wendy Becker | 04 Apr 22 | 389 | 35,000 |
| Quarto | Chuk Kin Lau (PDMR) * | 01-05 Apr 22 | 132 | 2,290,700 |
| Rio Tinto | Dominic Barton (ch designate) | 07 Apr 22 | 6,809† | 360,874† |
| SourceBio | Jay LeCoque (ch) | 06 Apr 22 | 130 | 129,500 |
| Strix | Mark Bartlett (ce) | 04 Apr 22 | 199 | 267,156 |
| Strix | Raudres Wong (cfo) | 04 Apr 22 | 199 | 44,178 |
| Strix | Gary Lamb (ch) | 04 Apr 22 | 199 | 88,356 |
| TMT Investments | Artemii Iniutin (PDMR) *, Alexander Morgulchik (PDMR) *, German Kaplun (PDMR) * | 07 Apr 22 | 528† | 229,569† |
| Trustpilot | Peter Mühlmann (ce) * | 01 Apr 22 | 147 | 27,145 |
| Victorian Plumbing | Mark Radcliffe (ce) | 04 Apr 22 | 51 | 354,200 |
| Sells | ||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) |
| BAE Systems | Gabrielle Costigan (PDMR) | 07 Apr 22 | 731 | 50,632 |
| Croda International | Jeremy Maiden (PDMR) * | 07 Apr 22 | 8,000 | 490,647 |
| Jardine Matheson | Anthony Nightingale | 01 Apr 22 | 4,356† | 1,176,120† |
| *Spouse/Family/Close Associate. ** Placing / Open Offer † Converted from € / $ / C$ / ZAR / A$ | ||||
